Chapter 3

Sophie's POV

Outside, a heavy storm had just passed.

I happened to fall straight into a patch of mud. The road was slick, and the more I struggled to get up, the harder it was to stand.

Ian just sat in the car and watched me, his face blank. "See that, Sophie?"

When I looked at him, he let out a cold laugh. "You can barely even stand up without my help. Where could you possibly go if you divorced me?"

Before I could answer, he pulled the car door shut, then drove off. The car shot past me like an arrow loosed from a bow, making mud splatter all over my face.

As my vision went dark, memories of my past with Ian flashed through my mind like a reel of film.

Right after the divorce with Jack, I'd been unable to handle the betrayal and had fallen into severe depression. I couldn't control the urge to hurt myself. If I cut myself once, Ian would give himself two cuts each time he found out.

I had endless sleepless nights, so he had the roof of the villa torn open and replaced with a skylight. He held me in his arms all night while we counted the stars.

When I couldn't eat, he went hungry with me.

After living like that for a year, I finally started to get better. I started to trust him. The day he confessed, he got down on one knee before me and promised that he would never betray me in this lifetime.

I believed him. Yet now, just a year later, his promise had expired.

When my thoughts finally settled, I wiped the mud from my eyes and used the wet sidewalk to push myself up. My clumsy movements made the people passing by laugh.

Shame and panic burned through me as I frantically hailed a cab. At last, a driver was willing to take me despite how filthy I looked, but only if I paid upfront, plus an extra 200 dollars.

I agreed without hesitation. But when it was time to pay, I was told my card had just been frozen; I couldn't use a single cent.

The moment I was kicked out of the car, the skies opened up again. Rain poured down on me, stinging and numbing all at once.

I didn't know how long I'd walked like that before I finally made it back to my home with Ian. I pushed the door open, and my mind went completely blank.

A pair of high heels and a pair of leather shoes were tangled together on the floor. Lacy lingerie and a black suit jacket were lying in a heap.

Ian held Jessica in his arms by the window and kissed her passionately. For a second, the scene in front of me overlapped perfectly with what I'd seen five years ago.

A broken, off-key howl tore out of my throat before I even realized I was making a sound. My hands and feet shook so hard that they didn't feel like they belonged to me.

The noise disturbed Ian and Jessica. He frowned in annoyance. "What are you freaking out about? It's not like this is the first time you've seen something like this."

Jessica let out a mocking laugh. "Long time no see, Sophie. I misspoke on the phone, you know. Ian is way better than Jake."

Her words clearly pleased him. "You've got good taste."

He chuckled and walked toward me. But the closer he came, the worse I shook. Finally, when he reached out to me, I suddenly doubled over and started vomiting uncontrollably.

Out of the corner of my eye, I saw him go rigid for a split second. Then, his voice drifted into my ear, low and chilling. "Do you find me disgusting, Sophie?"